(Brooklyn, NY) Community Board Ten Chairperson Joanne Seminara, Traffic and Transportation Chair Doris Cruz and Board Member George Fontas, Chair of Select Committee on Pedestrian Safety are pleased to announce the release of its Report: Pedestrian Safety Conditions in 11209 and 11220. (“the Pedestrian Safety Report”) The members of Community Board Ten unanimously offered their support of the Pedestrian Safety Report and applauded the Select Committee’s nearly year long study at its monthly General Board Meeting held on March 21, 2011.

Chairperson Seminara said, “Pedestrian accidents in this community are all too common and tragic. We could not continue to represent the community’s concerns without taking a hard look at pedestrian safety and suggesting solutions to the problem.”

Chairperson Seminara proposed the Select Committee in April of 2010 in response to an appeal made by local parents concerned about pedestrian safety. The Select Committee led by Board Member and Community Relations Expert George Fontas together with four Community Board Ten Members and four Public Members surveyed almost all of the intersections in 11209 and the area of 11220 that falls within Community District 10. They looked for 16 specific conditions that lead to unsafe conditions including: high vehicular traffic locations, T-intersections, speeding, double parking, and examined ADA compliance of Pedestrian Ramps.

Traffic and Transportation Chair Doris Cruz noted, “ The formation of the Select Committee allowed Board Members and Public Members to focus on this important issue and to develop a Community Survey that would enable members to go out onto the streets to study intersections and offer viable recommendations to the Department of Transportation for safety enhancements at tiered specific locations.”

The Select Committee Chairman George Fontas said, “Our goal with this report is to create lasting improvements that are in place at all times to help prevent even one more accident or fatality. We believe by identifying and ranking the streets and intersections we have given the Department of Transportation a roadmap to cost effectively study and implement solutions in a targeted manner”

Among the highlights of the Pedestrian Safety Report were a listing of three tiers of traffic locations requiring further study by the Department of Transportation; Tier 1 Locations of Highest Concern; Tier 2 Locations of Moderate Concern; and Tier 3 Possible Dangerous Conditions Existing as well as a series of suggestions and requests to the New York City Department of Transportation to help improve pedestrian safety within the study area.

“I offer my heartfelt congratulations and sincerest appreciation to Board Member George Fontas who chaired the Committee as well as the Board Members and Public Members who dedicated time to this project which I am confident will result in traffic safety enhancements for pedestrians within the study area.” commented Joanne Seminara, Community Board Ten Chair.
Pedestrian Safety Conditions in 11209 and 11220 (pdf)